Trai extends deadline for comment submission on service quality paper

Trai recently suggested fine of up to Rs 10 crore for operators and proposed a change to the Act which could lead to a jail term of up to two years for their executives for violating regulations, a move that telcos called "draconian."Anandita Singh Mankotia | ET Bureau | August 26, 2016, 18:34 IST

New Delhi: The telecom regulator has extended the last date for submission of comments on its paper reviewing quality of network-related services to September 16 and counter comments, to September 23, after a request from stakeholders.

​The ​Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had issued the paper on August 5 and the initial deadlines were August 26 and September 2 for comments and counter comments respectively.

The paper seeks views on whether graded financial disincentives, based on performance, should be introduced and the quantum of such penalties, besides feedback on setting separate parameters for 4G service quality.

In the consultation paper aimed at further tightening call quality norms besides standards for data services, the Trai has also sought stakeholder views on several aspects of quality of service, including the appropriateness of calculating call drops rate through metadata analysis of call detail records, and calculation methods for such a benchmark.

Trai cited one of the Supreme Court's observations to back its move to review quality of services, saying that under the Trai Act, it can, in a reasonable and non-arbitrary manner, ensure that telcos provide the funds needed to develop infrastructure and deal with them to protect the interests of consumers.

Trai recently suggested fine of up to Rs 10 crore for operators and proposed a change to the Act which could lead to a jail term of up to two years for their executives for violating regulations, a move that telcos called "draconian."

Trai has been seeking more legal teeth to check call drops and related quality of service issues. It is considering setting up an ombudsman to improve the efficiency of the consumer grievance redressal framework in order to resolve service quality issues.